The old workshop was gone.
Only the foundation remained beneath weeds and cracked concrete.
Maya parked beside the abandoned lot and stared through the windshield.
The place looked nothing like the photographs.
No brick walls.
No wooden doors.
No windows.
Just a fenced construction site and a weathered sign warning people to stay out.
Her father sat beside her.
“We shouldn't be here.”
Maya opened the door.
“You've said that before.”
“And I was right.”
She stepped into the rain.
Rachel followed.
“Where do we start?”
Maya looked toward the foundation.
“My childhood room.”
They found the entrance beneath a collapsed section of concrete near the rear wall.
A rusted metal hatch was partially covered by dirt.
Rachel crouched beside it.
“This wasn't here before.”
“It was.”
Maya brushed away mud.
A keyhole appeared.
She inserted the key.
The hatch opened.
Cold air rose from below.
Her father stared into the darkness.
“Your grandfather built this himself.”
Maya looked at him.
“You've been here.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After the fire.”
“What did you see?”
“I found your grandfather's desk.”
“And?”
“A photograph of you.”
“The one we have?”
“No.”
Maya's heart tightened.
“What happened to it?”
“I destroyed it.”
“Why?”
“Because Robert was searching for it.”
Maya looked down into the passage.
“Why was my photograph so important?”
Her father didn't answer.
Rachel stepped between them.
“Let's go.”
They descended.
The passage was narrower than the one beneath the church.
At the bottom was a concrete corridor.
Maya followed the beam of her flashlight.
There were faded drawings on the walls.
Children's drawings.
Houses.
Trees.
People holding hands.
Maya stopped.
“That was mine.”
Her father nodded.
“You drew those.”
She touched a crooked red house.
“I remember this.”
“You used to hide here.”
“Why?”
“Because you thought your grandfather's workshop was haunted.”
Maya looked at him.
“And you let me play down here?”
“He didn't.”
A voice came from behind them.
All three turned.
Nobody stood there.
Rachel whispered, “What?”
Maya heard it again.
A faint sound.
Not a voice.
A recording.
Somewhere in the wall.
She followed it.
Behind a loose panel was a small speaker.
A tape began playing automatically.
Her grandfather's voice filled the corridor.
“If you're hearing this, someone has found the lower chamber.”
Maya's pulse quickened.
“This room was built for one purpose. To preserve what the fire could not destroy.”
The recording crackled.
“The ledger contains transactions. But transactions are not the truth.”
Maya leaned closer.
“The truth is in the names.”
Her father looked away.
The recording continued.
“Four children were connected to the trust.”
Maya looked at Rachel.
“Four.”
“Clara's son. Ella. Maya. And the fourth.”
Maya's heart stopped.
The recording skipped.
“The fourth child is the key to understanding who betrayed us.”
The tape ended.
Rachel stared at Maya.
“Who is the fourth?”
Maya looked at her father.
He was crying.
“Dad.”
He wiped his face.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
He shook his head.
“I know who your grandfather believed it was.”
“Who?”
He couldn't answer.
Maya stepped closer.
“Who?”
A metallic sound echoed down the corridor.
Something had moved.
They turned.
At the far end stood a woman.
Maya raised her flashlight.
The beam illuminated her face.
The photograph.
The eyes.
The dark hair.
Maya whispered, “Ella.”
The woman stared back.
“Yes.”
Rachel began to cry.
Ella looked at Maya.
“You look like him.”
“Who?”
“Your grandfather.”
Maya swallowed.
“Where is Lily?”
Ella's expression tightened.
“She isn't with me.”
Maya stepped forward.
“Then why are you here?”
“To stop you from giving them the ledger.”
“Who?”
“Robert.”
“He has Lily.”
Ella shook her head.
“No.”
Maya froze.
“What?”
“He wants you to think he does.”
“What are you saying?”
Ella pointed toward the corridor.
“He didn't take her.”
Maya felt relief and fear collide.
“Then who did?”
Ella looked at their father.
“Ask him.”
Maya turned.
Her father's face was white.
“Dad?”
Ella continued.
“He knows where she is.”
Maya stared at him.
“You said you didn't.”
“I don't.”
Ella shook her head.
“You always did this.”
Her father looked at her.
“Ella.”
Maya's breath caught.
“You know her.”
He closed his eyes.
“Of course I do.”
Rachel stepped backward.
“You knew Ella?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Since she was a child.”
Maya's voice rose.
“You said you didn't know where she was.”
“I didn't.”
“But you knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her father looked at Ella.
“Because I found her.”
Maya couldn't speak.
“After the fire,” he continued, “I searched for her.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
Ella's expression remained hard.
“He found me when I was fourteen.”
Maya looked at her.
“What happened?”
“He gave me a photograph.”
“Of whom?”
“Your mother.”
Maya stared.
“Then he disappeared.”
Her father whispered, “I was being followed.”
Ella laughed bitterly.
“You left me again.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You always say that.”
Maya looked between them.
“What does this have to do with Lily?”
Ella's expression changed.
“Everything.”
She walked toward Maya.
“Lily isn't just listed in the trust.”
Maya's throat tightened.
“What is she?”
Ella looked directly into her eyes.
“She is the fourth beneficiary.”
Maya shook her head.
“That doesn't explain why her name was written before she was born.”
“No.”
Ella reached into her coat.
She removed a small envelope.
“Because her name wasn't written before she was born.”
Maya opened it.
Inside was a photocopy of the ledger page.
The date had been altered.
The original date was visible beneath the correction.
Seven years ago.
The same year Lily was born.
Maya stared.
Someone had deliberately changed the date in the copy.
“Who?”
Ella said, “Your mother.”
Maya turned toward Denise's photograph in her mind.
“No.”
Ella nodded.
“Yes.”
Maya looked at her father.
He whispered, “I didn't know.”
Ella handed Maya another paper.
It was a hospital record.
Lily's birth.
Beside the mother's name was Maya Bennett.
Beside the father's name was blank.
Maya frowned.
“What is this?”
Ella's eyes filled with sadness.
“The person who added Lily to the trust knew something about her father.”
Maya's hands went cold.
“What?”
Ella whispered:
“They knew he wasn't who you thought he was.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 15: The Hospital Record Forced Maya to Confront a Family Secret About Lily’s Father That Everyone Had Been Too Afraid to Tell Her
The Dinner Was Supposed to Mend Our Family Until My Daughter’s Cry Changed Everything
Part 14 of 20
